This country needs some more frank political dialogue. It's too bad that there are few outlets for discussion of policy beyond numbskulls dishing out the clichés fed to them by the candidates own campaign teams. Some of the networks have good political analysis but eschew policy and greater questions of political philosophy entirely. Viewers simply don't find it interesting. Or is there another explanation?
Unfortunately, I don't think reports that The View is the medicine our Hannitized nation requires.
The Wall Street Journal notes that The View -- with 3.8 million viewers each day -- is "tilting away from simple celebrity plugs and devoting more time to weighty political topics."
"ABC's daytime talk show is planning more frequent political guests in the run-up to the 2010 midterm elections. Women, mostly middle-class in their 40s and 50s, are a voting bloc expected to disproportionately participate in 2010. According to Nielsen, 79% of The View audience is female with a median age of 59."
Granted, that projection is not quite as pathetic as this open-mic that was caught on CNN cameras the other day. Fresh off her primary win in California, Senate candidate Carly Fiorina was heard telling one of her aides that fellow Republican Meg Whitman (former ebay CEO) made a mistake by doing an interview with Sean Hannity. "That's a hard interview," she said.
Hard? That's how you'd describe the show that hosted every Republican presidential candidate and spouse? On the network which is the exclusive venue for intellectual banterers, such as Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney? If major candidates for public office consider Sean Hannity a tough guy to impress, then apparently Wisconsin is not the only state with a brain drain issue.